Why I enjoy designing websites for architecture firms

While I consider every project, I especially enjoy designing (and maintaining) sites for architects in Australia and overseas. I’ve highlighted some of the most important reasons below:

My passion & interest for architecture and design

As Israeli Designer Ran Segall says in one of his YouTube videos “you really need to be interested and love what the client in your niche does”. I believe this to be very true. If I don’t care about the business my client is involved in I won’t be able to do my best work. If the subject matter bores me I won’t enjoy talking with my client about the problems he’s trying to solve with a new site and I won’t be able to come up with a site design that is truly innovative and that serves his business well. So, personally I’m passionate about architecture and design. With my stepfather being an architect, I got introduced to this field of work as a teenager and have since been very interested in contemporary architecture – nowadays I really enjoy going to local architecture events such as Open House Perth (a weekend-long events that lets the public take a peek into various well-designed and innovative buildings around Perth) and Sustainable House Day (a regular annual event throughout Western Australia showcasing various environmentally conscious buildings).

Appreciation of good design and a willingness to invest in it

Previously also worked with quite a few organisations in the non-profit space, and I really liked supporting them and their mission with a brand-new online presence. However I found that their budget did oftentimes not allow for a custom designed website and that many organisations were even expecting to only take on web designers as “pro bono workers” who would render their services as volunteers. Volunteering my services every now and then is fun, but doesn’t allow me to pay my expenses a a business owner or grow my business effectively. Therefore it is important for me to work for an industry that has an eye for design and usability and understands that in order to get high quality work by a professional you have to be prepared to invest. Having a web presence that is well designed and features a favourable user experience I believe that this is something architects understand since they themselves have to choose between different materials, building methods and suppliers and oftentimes higher quality goods come with a higher price tag.

My ability to solve the web-related issues my clients have

I know how to design and build sites that work well for attracting new customers. For architects this includes a site that shows their expertise and previously building projects efficiently, but also enables potential clients to get in touch easily with their preferred architect – on all platforms, not just on a desktop computers. A site nowadays should also include dynamic content, that is being updated regularly and that brings value to the audience you want to reach. I will soon write a more detailed blog post on what to best include on the website of an architecture firm.

My competitive advantage

Due to my skillset and design process I have a special advantage for building sites in the architecture space. First of all, I am a very visual person and have built many portfolio sites, displaying my work over the years – which taught me exactly what is important for potential clients. Secondly I use an all-in-one web platform called Webflow which allows my clients to update site content easily (plus avoid any plugin updates or conflicts). It also lets me build the site faster than an agency or developer could who is hand-coding their site. Speaking of speed… I only work with one major client at a time, which allows me to go from initial design to website launch in only 2 weeks. You can learn more about my 2-week design process in my recent blog post.

Do you focus on a specific niche or target audience with your business? Or do you only service clients in a specific geographic area? Has this given you an advantage over other studios that offer similar services?